Minister can’t declare state of emergency in sports—Ka’Oje

A former Minister of Sports, Bala Ka’Oje, has said that the incumbent Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has no right to declare `state of emergency’ in the sector.

Ka’Oje spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday following a recent comment by Dalung that he would declare a state of emergency in the sports sector.

NAN reports that Team Nigeria’s poor outing at the Rio 2016 Olympics had necessitated the minister’s comment after the country won only football bronze at the Games as against the five medal he promised.

Ka’Oje said that the minister declaring state of emergency in sports meant that he had enough money to pump into the sector and turn it around without necessarily involving President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to him, only the president has the authority to declare state of emergency in any sector of the economy since he alone can approve the funds needed for any serious transformation.

“Is good to declare a state of emergency but is the minister the president of the country; it’s only the president that has the right to do that in any sector he likes for it to make meaning.

“This is because only the president know where and how to get funding to achieve the desired result of the declaration of emergency in that sector.

“So, if a minister declares a state of emergency, where will he get the money to fund the declaration apart from the normal budgetary provision he gets annually.

“We know that the major ingredient in sports development is funding,’’ Ka’Oje said.

He urged the minister to think of returning the National Sports Commission (NSC) and ensuring that a law backing its establishment was passed in the National Assembly.

The former minister noted that government and private individuals would be willing and convinced to invest their money in sports when they know that there were laws backing NSC.